The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club which has its training and administration base in the northern Melbourne suburb of Tullamarine, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game’s premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their Ascot Vale home ‘Ailsa’, and while the exact date is unknown, it is generally accepted to have been in 1872. The club’s first recorded game took place on 7 June 1873 against a Carlton Second 20. From 1878 until 1896, the club played in the Victorian Football Association then joined seven other clubs in October 1896 to form the breakaway Victorian Football League. Headquartered at the Essendon Recreation Ground, known as Windy Hill, from 1922 to 2013, the club moved to The Hangar in near Tullamarine in late 2013 on land owned the Melbourne Airport. The club currently plays its home games at either Docklands Stadium or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Dyson Heppell is the current club captain; Ben Rutten is the senior coach.
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is an Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in the suburb of North Melbourne in 1869, it is based at its traditional home ground, Arden Street Oval, and plays its home matches at both the nearby Docklands Stadium and Blundstone Arena in Hobart, Tasmania.
James Albert Hird is a former professional Australian rules football player and the former senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Mark "Bomber" Thompson is a retired Australian rules footballer and former senior coach. He played 202 games for the Essendon Football Club from 1983 to 1996, captaining the side from 1992 until 1995.
Robert Shaw is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club and coach in the VFL/AFL with the Fitzroy and Adelaide Football Clubs. Shaw was recruited from Sandy Bay Football Club in Tasmania.
Simon Goodwin is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He has been the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2017.
Gary James Ayres is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently the senior coach for the Port Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Ayres' playing career is honored by the existence of the Gary Ayres Award, an annual award given to the player judged best-afield by the AFL Coaches Association throughout each AFL finals series.
Damien Patrick Hardwick is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He is the senior coach of the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2010, and has the longest continuous service of any current AFL coach.
Neale Francis Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was later the coach of the Melbourne Football Club between 1998 and 2007, and also held coaching positions with Essendon, Fremantle and West Coast. His brothers, Terry, Anthony and Chris, also played for Essendon. Daniher was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2014 and is now known as a prominent campaigner for medical research.
Nathan "Bassy" Bassett is a former Australian rules footballer for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently an assistant coach with the Port Adelaide Football Club.
Darren Robert Jarman is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and for the North Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Jarman is recognized, along with older brother Andrew, as one of the most skilful South Australian footballers of the late 1980s and 1990s. While Andrew was renowned for his constructive handball skills, Darren was regarded as one of the finest kicks on either foot, whether passing to a leading forward or shooting for goal.
Neil Passmore Craig is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Norwood Football Club, Sturt Football Club and the North Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Darren Bewick is a former Australian rules footballer who won two premierships with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Bewick's game breaking pace & goal sense inside the attacking 50 was legendary amongst Bomber fans.
Terrence "Terry" John Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne and Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Terry was also an assistant coach for the Essendon, Collingwood, St Kilda and Carlton Football Clubs. Terry's brothers, Neale, Anthony and Chris, also played for Essendon in the AFL. He is a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame and the Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame and is a Champion of Essendon. Terry is currently the owner of Terry Daniher Cleaning Services, a cleaning company based in Melbourne.
Sean Wellman is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Kevin Morris is a former Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1971 and 1976 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1977 until 1981 for the Collingwood Football Club.
Leigh Tudor is a former Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne and Geelong football clubs and is currently an assistant coach for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was formerly an assistant coach for the Sydney Swans.
Wade Chapman is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s.
Rohan Welsh is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Australian Football League (AFL) and Dandenong and Frankston in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He currently serves as the backline coach of the St Kilda Football Club.
Peter Charles Banfield is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon and the Brisbane Bears in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1980s, and with West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) during the early 1990s.
